Latch



`lune 7, 1949. B. GASH LATCH Original Filed Aug. 26, 1944 3 Qa frz-21514 33 la CHARLES B. GAsH NvENToQ @j Wg;

Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Divided 'and this application Septemben'l, 1945, Serial'No. 615,002

.2 Claims. l

The present invention relates to Viishing'tai.k1e and other boxes, vand latches and locks therefor. It .has particular reference to the provision -of `an improved box and improved latching :and locking means for the box. Every fisherman is .familiar with the habit of tackle boxes opening up zand spilling allfthe contents, and not infrequently into the water.

The present application is a division of the subject matter vof application, vSerial No. 551,371, iiled by the present applicant onA-ugust 26, .1944, now Patent Number 2,440,541 dated on April 27, 1948.

The `present application relates to latching means.

One oi the objects of this invention is .to provide a `box which will insure against any such thing happening. An advantage of the shing tackle box lof my invention is that it has :a bottom drawer which opens by being pulled out horizontally at the front, and the box in its preferred form has a swinging latch whereby the drawer and the lid when closed may be latched, so that when the bottom drawer is latched, the lid, also, is latched and vice versa. The weight of the latch is applied off-center so as to prevent the latch from swinging accidentally to unlatched position when unlocked.

I, also, provide a lock which is preferably permanently attached to the latch, operated by a key which, when locked, prevents the swinging latch from turning out of its locked position.

Another object and advantage of my invention is the provision of such a construction which is easily assembled and inexpensive to construct.

Further objects and advantages will appear and be brought out more fully in the following specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the box;

Fig. 2 is a Vertical section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of the swinging latch and lock; and

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional View, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 4.

Referring'to the drawings in detail, in which I have shown the preferred form utilizing the principles of my invention, a box I0 has a body portion I I, a drawer I2, and a lid I3 hinged to the body, having the usual handle I4. The drawer I2 may also be provided with handles I5, and

2 opensby "pulling .the same outwardly-to the iront in a horizontal manner.

Another handle vIii is secured to aldisk i`I1 .extending throughs. cut-out I8 in the front portion I9 of the .body o'f the box, and mounted `on f8' squarepost rI 9a.

This ldisk lis located on its other side next toa swinginglocking latch 20 4which has ya cut-out 12| and another cut-ont 22 at ,diagonally opposite corners of .the.1atch, in which pins y23 and .24,1respectively, are .adapted to vbe received, to limitfthe movement of the latch, as will be readily understood. vThe `square post ISa extends through a square hole :I9b zin-the latch and the latch 2D is retained on the post I9a by a -head 19e, so Vthat the handle may turn the latch.

The latch `2i! has mounted thereona common lock 25. .A key 4is .adapted to be inserted in fa keyhole 26 .in thelid to operate abolt 21.

.The bolt 21 is adapted :to move :into 'and out of a slot 28 in an offset bifurcated plate 29 on the lid I3. I, also, have provided a stop pin 3D in the inside face of the body of the box which limits the swinging movement of the latch 20 clockwise looking at Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings in contradistinction to the pins 23 and 24 which limit the movement of the latch 20 counter clockwise.

I have also provided a housing 3I on the inside of the drawer which serves to separate the contents of the drawer from the working parts of the latch and may serve, also, to insure against the drawer opening when ity is supposed to be in locked position.

It will be manifest from the foregoing that when the latch 20 is in the position shown in Fig. 4, the lid cannot be lifted because of the engagement of the latch with the pin 23. Also, the drawer cannot be pulled out because of the abutment of the head 32 of the pin 24 in the drawer front against the latch 2l). With latch 20 in closed position, the box can be carried even without using the key for lock 25. This in itself is one of the new features of the invention as, in addition, it eliminates the usual outside hardware such as clamps or latchesand will cut down the cost of manufacture.

It will also be observed that I have provided vanother housing 33 for the lid to keep the contents away from the working parts.

When the latch is in thel position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, it will tend to remain in this position as the weight of the latch is arranged in such a manner that the latch is off the vertical axis through the pivot in the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

There is also a housing 34 for the swinging locking latch 20. While the latch is in the lastmentioned position, it may be again locked by means of the key which will cause the bolt 21 to engage in the slot 28 in the clip of the lid. This will prevent handle I6 from being turned. A fortiori, the contents will be securely locked in this position also.

In order to open the box, it is necessary not only to operate the key to remove the bolt from the slot 28, but also to take hold of the handle I6 and swing it in a counter-clockwise manner as seen in Figure 1 until it reaches a horizontal position with the lower side of the upper part of the latch resting against the stop pin BIJ.

The portion of the box behind the housing 34 constitutes a false tray 35 and an actual tray 36 may rest on lugs 3'! above false tray 35.

The operation of the device and its advantages should be manifest without further description.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into eiect, this is capable of variation and modication without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Latch means for simultaneously holding a rst member against rectilineal movement and a second member against swinging movement on an axis spaced from and substantially parallel to said rst member with the axis normal to the direction of movement of said rst member, said latch means comprising a, lever, means to pivotally mount said lever between said members,

said lever being formed with a notch on one edge adjacent to one end and a notch on the opposite edge adjacent to the other end, a headed pin on said rst member and received in one of said notches, a pin on said second member received in the order of said notches, and an operating member for the lever associated With said pivotal mounting for rotating said lever to simultaneously cause engagement or disengagement of said pins in said notches.

2. Latch means for simultaneously holding a rst member against rectilineal movement and a second member against swinging movement on an axis spaced from and substantially parallel to said first member with the axis being arranged normal to the direction of movement of said rst member, said latch means comprising a lever, a pivotal mounting for said lever between said members, elements of an interlocked connection on one end of said lever and said first member, elements of another interlocked connection on the other end of said lever and said second member, and means associated with said pivotal mounting for rotating said lever toV simultaneously make and break said interlocked connections.

CHARLES B. GASH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file oi this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 276,886 Rudolph May 1, 1883 944,360 Gregson Dec. 28, 1909 1,360,839 Wentsch Nov. 30, 1920 2,249,438 Smith July 15, 1941 2,440,541 Gash Apr. 27, 1948 

